learn

[[t]lɜ͟ː(r)n[/t]]

♦

learns, learning, learned, learnt

(American English uses the form learned as the past tense and past participle. British English uses either learned or learnt.)

1) VERB If you learn something, you obtain knowledge or a skill through studying or training.

[V n] Their children were going to learn English...

[V to-inf] He is learning to play the piano.

[V wh] ...learning how to use new computer systems...

Experienced teachers help you learn quickly. [Also V about n]

Derived words:

learning N-UNCOUNT

...a bilingual approach to the learning of English.

2) VERB If you learn of something, you find out about it.

[V of n] It was only after his death that she learned of his affair with Betty...

[V that] It didn't come as a shock to learn that the fuel and cooling systems are the most common causes of breakdown...

[V wh] ...the Admiral, who, on learning who I was, wanted to meet me.

Syn:

find out

3) VERB If people learn to behave or react in a particular way, they gradually start to behave in that way as a result of a change in attitudes.

[V to-inf] You have to learn to face your problem...

[V wh-to-inf] We are learning how to confront death instead of avoiding its reality.

4) VERB If you learn from an unpleasant experience, you change the way you behave so that it does not happen again or so that, if it happens again, you can deal with it better.

[V from n] I am convinced that he has learned from his mistakes...

[V n from n] The company failed to learn any lessons from this experience.

5) VERB If you learn something such as a poem or a role in a play, you study or repeat the words so that you can remember them.

[V n] He learned this song as an inmate at a Texas prison.

6) → See also , learning

7) to learn something the hard way → see way

to learn the ropes → see rope